Data Mountain

Zusammenfassungen

Effective management of documents on computers has
been a central user interface problem for many years.
One common approach involves using 2D spatial layouts
of icons representing the documents, particularly for information
workspace tasks. This approach takes advantage
of human 2D spatial cognition. More recently, several
3D spatial layouts have engaged 3D spatial cognition
capabilities. Some have attempted to use spatial memory
in 3D virtual environments. However, there has been no
proof to date that spatial memory works the same way in
3D virtual environments as it does in the real world. We
describe a new technique for document management
called the Data Mountain, which allows users to place
documents at arbitrary positions on an inclined plane in a
3D desktop virtual environment using a simple 2D interaction
technique. We discuss how the design evolved in
response to user feedback. We also describe a user study
that shows that the Data Mountain does take advantage of
spatial memory. Our study shows that the Data Mountain
has statistically reliable advantages over the Microsoft
Internet Explorer Favorites mechanism for managing
documents of interest in an information workspace.